


Cardinal Truth

by Ghostbunne (orphan_account)



Series: Marble Wings AU [1]
Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: Alex Kralie's Marble Hornets, Alex is a Crow, Also Amy is a Lesbian, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Wings, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arson, Basically Some People in This Universe Have Bird WIngs, Best Friends, Birds, Bullying, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Different Types Of Wings Are Treated Differently, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, I.E. Doves are Revered As Peace Bringers Whilst Vultures Are Scene As Narcissistic Idiots, It'll be explained, Jay is a Bluejay, Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, Marble Wings AU, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions - Mentioned, Most Dont, Multi, Mutual Pining, No Operator, Not Actually Unrequited Love, People Believe Them Anyway, Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love, Pre-Marble Hornets, Religion, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, The Others Don't Have Wings (Mostly), These Stereotypes Are Not True, Trauma, Unrequited Love, Wings, because I say so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24745723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Ghostbunne
Summary: In a world where some people are born with birds wings on their back, Alex is stuck with the short end of the stick.While others with the wings of doves and bluejays are seen as exemplary members of society who almost get hero-worshipped, Alex is a part of the crowd society sees as the scum of the earth. Crows, vultures, seagulls, all of them seen as shady, greedy, or dumb. Now in college with his best friend Jay Alex is both navigating the hardships of making a student film his heart just isn't in as well as dealing with his girlfriend breaking up with him because she's a lesbian, society still mostly hating him for no reason other than the feathers on his wings, and a crush on both his best friend and a guy he barely knows.
Relationships: Alex Kralie & Timothy "Tim" Wright, Alex Kralie/Amy Walters, Alex Kralie/Jay Merrick, Alex Kralie/Timothy "Tim" Wright, Amy/Jessica (Marble Hornets), Brian & Timothy "Tim" W., Jay & Alex Kralie, Jay Merrick/Timothy "Tim" Wright, Jessica Locke/Amy Walters, Sarah Reid/Seth Wilson, Timothy "Tim" W. & Jay Merrick
Series: Marble Wings AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789396
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Alex Makes a Movie

Alex remembered his first day of public school vividly. He had been so excited to meet so many new people, winged and wingless alike. He was one of the winged, a small percentage of the population born with bird wings. No one was quite sure what caused it, if it was something to do with DNA or if it was magic or some kind of a blessing. Most people had traditionally subscribed to the blessing idea, saying that the winged were those chosen by God as mighty warriors for his truth. This concept had slipped into less acceptance in recent years with people beginning to believe it to be a genetic phenomenon, but the majority of older folks still held tight to the imagery of angels and passed these ideas onto their children. Because of this the winged were put on a pedestal by society over time and were generally regarded as a higher class of individuals who could do no wrong. Of course, Alex didn’t know any of this yet, the extent of his knowledge being Grandpa and Grandpa both had them, Mom has them and Dad doesn’t, some of your Aunt’s and Uncles do but not all of them, and Alex had them as well. Two black crows wings that when outstretched were double his arm span and allowed him to fly and glide and made him happy.

Alex was so excited to meet so many new people, but upon entering the school learned that they weren’t so excited to see him. The one thing Alex’s parents had omitted when preparing him for school was preparing him for the stigma and stereotypes that came with the culture around the winged, and how while some believed most winged were blessed by God, they also believed others were devil-sent, and crows fell into that category. His parents had assumed people would be understanding, that Alex was young enough his peers wouldn’t care and he could make friends with his classmates before the vicious words of their parents convinced them he was nothing more than a liar, a trickster, a thief, and generally bad person, that they would know the real Alex before they projected the thoughts of society over him. Unfortunately, this was not the case. 

If Alex were to describe his first day of school now he would use a few specific words. Hellish, Shitty, Fucked. He was bullied relentlessly, blamed for everything that went wrong, stole from, tricked, wings pulled at, and ignored. The worst of it came from other winged in the school, Doves, Swans, Chickadees, Robins, whoever felt like they were better than Alex based on what bird they represented took part in the active bullying. The other winged who were considered on the same level as or just a bit above Alex didn’t actively bully him, instead simply ignoring what was going on and excluding him because as long as it wasn’t them getting bullied everything was fine. The participation of the wingless was split. Some were right alongside the bullying while others just ignored him. 

When the day finally ended and Alex was able to go home he was in tears. His parents argued for hours, his mom wanting to start homeschooling him again, protect him from the world, he was only a second-grader he didn’t deserve this, and his dad arguing he had to face the world at some point, they couldn’t shelter him forever, that someday he had to get out there and face the fact that some people would hate him for no reason at all.

He stayed in school. The first few months were the worst of his life with the bullying persisting at the same intensity as before and even increased when some parents found out through their children. Alex didn’t know what to do. He was only a kid, he didn’t have any power over the situation. Everything ended up coming to a head on a chilly day in late January. They were pushing him around in the schoolyard and Alex was tired of being upset, of being sad. He was angry now. His hands balled into fists at his side and he didn’t care if it was bad to punch people because he was going to hit Kevin right in his stupid mouth- and then something happened that had never happened before.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” A voice he had never heard before yelled from across the yard. Alex turned his head to see a boy around his age barreling towards them. Before he knew it the boy was between him and Kevin, his wings spread out like a shield. “What’s your problem? He wasn’t doing anything to you!”

“We need to put him in his place before he does do something! He’s got crow wings, my mom said that means he’s an awful tricky person who wants to hurt others.” Kevin retorted with incredible confidence. “If we don’t put him in his place he would do something.”

The boy with the bluejay wings paused for a moment, thinking to himself. Alex assumed he was going to turn on him like everyone else, but instead he looked up at Kevin with a small smile before ignoring him and turning to face Alex. 

“Do you want to go play somewhere else?” the boy asked, and for the first time, Alex felt he had made a friend. He nodded silently, wiping the tears from his face before the bluejay boy took his hand and led him away from the bullies. He later learned that this boy’s name, ironically, was Jay. Although at that point he didn’t have a real grasp on irony.

They had been friends ever since, and while the bullying never really stopped it was both easier to deal with because he had a friend and had slowed down over the years. Now they were both in college and life had gotten a lot easier for both of them. Even if people still held the views they did against him when he was a child, a lot of people had also realized how none of what they had been taught as children reflected the people around them. Over time it had also become a lot less hurtful and a lot more… annoying. Especially the person he was dealing with now.

“Jay, if you need help you can tell me. If he’s trapping you I can get you out!” A random girl loudly whispered to Jay, who gently pushed her away with an awkward smile and a small laugh.

“Actually, uh, Alex is my friend,” He said to her. She quirked her brow up and gave Alex a sideways glance and a once-over, deciding this couldn’t possibly be true, after all, why would a bluejay, a group typically seen as representing truth, faithfulness, vigilance, and loyalty hang out with a crow such as Alex, a group seen as crafty, manipulative, untruthful, and bad luck. It just could never mesh! Except for the fact that Jay and Alex were both real people and not cut-outs from some old children’s book or an outdated ‘guide to the winged’ that everyone’s grandmothers seemed to own.”We’ve been friends since around second grade.”

“Oh, he’s been manipulating you for that long, you poor-” The girl was interrupted quickly by Jay, immediately coming to Alex’s defence.

“He’s not manipulating me! Now quit harassing us, we’re trying to write a script and you’re a huge distraction, as well as being super rude, dismissive, and coming up with assumptions about someone I’ve known almost my whole life!” Jay exploded. The girl shrunk back before turning with a huff and wandering off to her gaggle of friends. Alex was more glad they were finally gone than angry that Jay kept refusing to let him fight his own battles. 

“Finally, I was worried they were going to keep trying to save you from my evil mind control manipulation technique forever,” Alex said with a smirk. Jay laughed. “I wish you had let me talk for myself, though.”

“Alex she was talking to me, you weren’t a part of the conversation. It was less like me picking up your fights and more like if someone was talking shit about you when you weren’t around.” Jay attempted to justify.

“We both know I could hear her poor attempt at whispering and that what you just said is not how it works,” Alex responded before looking down at the script in his hand. “And anyway, I’ve been involved with trying to show people that the stupid biases and stigmas are just a bunch of bullshit people made up hundreds of years ago and have been in much scarier situations than talking to a girl who thinks I’ve somehow manipulated you into being my friend. I could’ve stood up for myself.”

“Next time I’ll take a backseat,” Jay said as he always did, but his friends want to stand up for others was a lot stronger than his promises. “So, how’s your magnum opus going?”

“Terrible.” Alex groaned, placing his forehead against the table. “It’s the story I’ve always wanted to tell but every revision seems to just show me that it sucks. I feel so…”

“Uninspired?” Jay suggested.

“Stuck. I’m starting to feel like my passion has shifted like this isn’t the story I want to tell anymore.”

“Woah, are you telling me you’ve changed since sophomore year of high school? I never would’ve guessed!” Jay joked as Alex hit him lightly in the arm. “Do you know what you want to do instead?”

“If I knew I wouldn’t be sitting here revising the same script for the fiftieth time. I have no idea what I’m doing.” Alex said quietly. He thought about his school career so far, how he hadn’t done much outside of classes aside from making a few friends here and there from other programs like Brian who was in the theatre program, or his now girlfriend Amy who went to a different school altogether. He had also made a friend or two in his program in the form of Seth and a handful of others. Out of all of the people in his friend circle, himself and Jay were the only winged. He found it nicer because more often than not the wingless either already didn’t believe the stereotypes or had an easier time learning that they were wrong. “Ugh, I have auditions scheduled for tomorrow and I don’t even have a final script.”

“I could work on it for you while you do auditions, I mean, I am the script supervisor and I have nothing better to do,” Jay responded. Alex lifted his head from the table and turned to him, a spark of hope in his eye.

“Seriously? That would be great!” Alex said, hugging his friend. “Jay you are the greatest.”

“No problem, Alex. I can even bring it down to the auditions if I finish soon enough. If not just meet me at my dorm.” Jay responded, returning the hug. “You’re my best friend, I’d do anything for you.”

The next day Alex had made sure was completely free for auditions. He had sat alone in the booked room for five hours now and had one more to go when the first person to audition walked through the door. It was an out of breath Brian Thomas, his second closest friend.

“Am I late?” He asked, his ever-present smile plastered across his face. 

“Not at all!” Alex replied before handing him a small excerpt from the script he had written. Brian was an amazing actor with the ability to go from incredibly serious and sombre to a bouncing ball of sunshine on the stage. He was handsome too, meaning he would be the perfect person to play the leading role. “Funnily enough you’ll be reading for the role of Brian.”

“Well great! That’s like, the one thing I am good at!” Brian said with a laugh and an infectious smile. Brian began to read and Alex paid attention to him, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but lose part of his focus to another man meandering around in the hall. “How did I do?”

“You did great!” Alex truthfully said, even if he had lost attention part way through he already knew Brian had secured the lead. It was hard not to choose him considering he was the best actor Alex knew as well as the only person to audition. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know if you have the role, but I was just curious, who’s that?”

Brian followed Alex’s gaze into the hall with a confused frown before he spotted who exactly Alex meant. He smiled again and waved when he caught the other man’s gaze, who awkwardly waved back.

“Tim, come here, meet my friend Alex!” Brian called out and Tim obliged, walking into the room. “Alex Kralie, this is Tim Wright, Tim, Alex.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tim said extending a hand. Alex took it. His handshake was somehow firm and loose at the same time as if he knew the key elements to a good one and was following them to a T but would really rather not touch another person. That had been the second thing Alex Kralie had noticed about this Tim Wright guy, the first thing he noticed was how incredibly handsome he was. Not in the same way as Brian who came off as a boy-next-door sunshine kind of guy, more in a way where a book would likely describe him as tall, dark, and handsome, even if he was about half a foot shorter than Alex. He seemed nervous like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “So, uh, you’re a director? Or, uh, at least that’s what I gathered from what Brian said before we got here.”

“Yeah, today is the auditions for my student film, would you like to try out?” Alex asked, hopeful that he would say yes but unsure as to why. Nothing indicated this guy would be a good actor or even good for a background character.

“Acting isn’t really my thing, I’ve never been one for the spotlight,” Tim replied with an awkward laugh as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Aw, come on Tim, it’ll be fun!” Brian prodded.

“Ok, uh, I guess I’ll give it a shot then,” Tim said as he sat in the chair opposite Alex. He began to read, but Alex wasn’t listening to him, instead he focused on his wings folding and unfolding slightly in a nervous habit he hadn’t been able to break since he was a kid. One that had started when… He shook himself back to reality, focusing on Tim’s acting instead of anything else. He was pretty good, not as good as Brian but with a little practice, he would manage just fine. He’d be good in a supporting role.

“Good job, I’ll call both of you to let you know if you get parts!” Alex said cheerfully, things finally seemed to be looking up for him. Maybe he could finally figure out whatever he wanted his movie to be about.

“Hey, Tim and I are going to eat out tonight, do you want to come with us?” Brian asked. Alex considered it, it would be nice but…

“Sorry, I have to pack up here. Maybe another time?” Alex responded.

“Alright, see you later!” Brian said before leaving. As they walked away Alex could hear them having a conversation.

“He was nicer than I thought he was going to be,” Tim said, his voice growing more distant. “I mean when you told me he was a-”

His voice was cut off as the door to the outside slammed shut. Alex already knew what he had been about to say, and it didn’t bother him if Tim thought he was going to be an asshole because of the typing of his wings. He began to pack up, already sure that no one else was coming. He would just head over to Jay’s dorm room and they could hang out and chat until they fell asleep. His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. He looked down to find it was from Amy. He picked up immediately, excited to talk to her.

“Hello?” He called out. He quickly realized that something was off. It sounded as though she was crying from the gasping breaths for air that caught in her throat. “Amy? Is everything alright?”

“Alex I… I’m sorry. You’re a great guy and I love you a lot but…” he felt his heart sink. “I have to break up with you. I can’t explain why but- I’m so sorry Alex. You deserve way better than this.”

“Amy Wait! Please, tell me why- is it your parents again?” He asked, remembering how cold they had been towards him when they had first started dating.

“No, it’s not them I just… Alex, you promise to not be mean about it? To not get angry at me?” She asked.

“Amy I could never get angry at you.” He responded softly. It was the truth. Even if he found out she had been cheating on him he didn’t think he could be mad. Disappointed but never mad. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“Alex I… I do love you, I really do, just not… romantically. I- Alex I figured out something about myself and I’ve been working up the courage to tell you for a while which obviously didn’t work but…” she paused, taking a deep breath. “Alex, I’m gay.”

She broke down again on the other end of the phone. Alex waited for her to calm down so she wouldn’t miss what he had to say.

“Amy, it’s alright. I’m not angry, I get it. Sometimes it takes a relationship with someone else to figure these things out. It’s alright.” Alex said, doing his best to comfort her with the great distance between them.

“Can we… Can we still be friends?” Amy asked tentatively.

“Of course. Thanks for calling me about this, I’m glad you let me know. I’ll talk to you another time, I have to pack up some stuff and take it to Jay’s dorm.”

“Alright, I’ll text you the next time I’m in town. See you later.” With that, she hung up, and Alex was left alone. Yeah it hurt, and it sucked, but there wasn’t much he could do about it considering he couldn’t change a person. Jay would have some nice words that would make him feel better like he always did, he was wonderful like that. Alex finished packing up and put all the stuff from the auditions into the trunk of his car and he went off to Jay’s house. He thought about what had just happened, and then it really hit him. If anyone had asked he would say he didn’t cry, what was there to be sad about? Sometimes things just turned out that way and there was nothing you could do about it. He’d be lying, of course. Amy had been his first girlfriend, and while he wasn’t mad or upset with her or her reasons he was still upset in a way he didn’t quite understand himself. It was fine. He was back to composure by the time he reached Jay’s door.


	2. Moment of Self Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex learns more about Tim which only raises more questions, as well as figuring out something about himself.

Jay didn’t notice that anything was amiss, which had been Alex’s plan, but at the same time, a part of him wanted Jay to notice, wanted him to say something nice that would make the aching in his chest go away for once, an aching that only ever happened around Jay. The other part of him was of course the part Alex listened to, the part that told him he had to stay the course and stay it alone. His problems were only his own and he shouldn’t burden others with them. 

“Alex, is something wrong?” Jay asked as he muted the TV. Alex cursed internally as he realized he must have dropped his facade while lost in thought. That or Jay was just incredibly intuitive, which was the much more unlikely option. Jay would always be Alex’s best friend but even he would be hardpressed not to tell the truth that sometimes the man had the emotional intuition and tact of a grapefruit. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“Amy and I broke up,” Alex admitted. There was no point in beating around the bush, Jay would push and prod until he got an answer that he felt was true. It was just in his nature. “It wasn’t a fight or cheating or anything so don’t get ready to fight anyone. She just figured out something about herself that she hadn’t outside of a relationship.”

“And you?” Jay added, a curious look on his face.

“And me? There’s nothing to figure out about me.” Alex added. If Jay was trying to ask if he liked guys he was wrong. Sure, he often got a weird feeling when interacting with Jay, or when seeing a handsome guy, but that didn’t mean anything. He was just socially inept and worried about rejection. Rejection of friendship or even basic human decency, that is. “You know that.”  
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jay responded, sounding almost… disappointed. Alex didn’t pay it much mind as Jay unmuted the TV, and he didn’t see the sad expression that crossed Jay’s face when he wasn’t looking.

The next day, Alex called Tim and Brian to let them know they both secured a part. Brian the lead of course and Tim… Alex wasn’t quite sure where to place Tim, especially considering the script wasn’t even done. Maybe he could just make up some kind of role. They had a while in between now and filming to location scout. If Tim turned out not to be a judgemental asshole Alex could even bring him along and get an idea for who he was and what sort of character would fit him. Alex checked the time before stepping out onto his balcony, locking the sliding door behind him. He hopped up onto the railing before spreading out his wings and allowing himself to glide towards the building his class was in. As he approached the quad he heard someone calling his name and he came in for an abrupt landing on the grass.  
“Alex!” Tim ran towards him, coming to a stop about two feet away, coughing like mad. When the fit finished he stood up, catching his breath. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to thank you. For, uh, not being an asshole. When Brian said-”

“That I was a crow?” Alex spat, his wings puffing out slightly, expecting a verbal fight at the least but not afraid to get physical if he needed to. 

“What? Is that a slang term for winged? You know what- No, what I was going to say was when Brian told me you were winged I expected you to be a giant, self-entitled jerk because that’s how all the winged people I had ever met acted. So thank you… for not being that. God, that came out wrong.” Tim laughed. Alex joined in, trying to soften his outburst from moments before. “So- wait, I didn’t- Everyone is a different type of bird?”

“Are you… Are you joking?” Alex asked. Was this guy being serious? Did he not know the entire species thing? An integral part of winged and non-winged society as a whole? “I’m dead serious, are you joking.”

“No? Is that- was that something I was supposed to know?” They paused, staring at each other for a minute. Had Tim lived under a rock his entire life? How could he just… not know that different groups of people had different wings? Did he think they were just… different colours? Alex seemed to only get more questions about the man each time they interacted. “You know what, nevermind, I’ve got to get to class.”

“Wait, could I grab your phone number so I don’t have to communicate through Brian? Just for easier planning.” 

“Sure, one second,” Before Alex could say anything Tim pulled a black marker from his bag, grabbed his arm, and in neat writing scrawled out his phone number along Alex’s forearm. “There you go. Uh, have a nice day and I’ll see you around.”  
And just as suddenly as Tim had arrived he was gone. Alex finished making his way to the school building his class was in, all the while trying to push down the funny nervous feeling that had cropped up inside him. It reminded him of how he felt around Amy before they had gotten together, and he didn’t know what it meant.

“Alright, raise your hand if you know what clipping is.” The Professor called out from the front of the lecture room. Every person in the room raised their hand. “Ok, that’s good, I’m going to explain it regardless because there’s a lot of misinformation out there.”

Alex sat back, thankful that this wasn’t going to be an hour or more of looking down on people for their choices, especially when it came to something fairly personal to him.

“Clipping is the process in which a winged individual, typically for health and safety reasons, will have their wings removed, or as most people say, clipped. If done by a qualified doctor the procedure is painless. It does leave large scars however which are characterized primarily by their placement just above or over the shoulder blades. These scars are noticeable to most observers.” The professor paused, turning back to face the room. “Now, some reasons people get clipped are severe wing injury, severe back injury, if the wings are too heavy to be supported by the individual which is more common amongst condors and others with large wingspans, or cancers in the wings. Does anyone here know someone who has been clipped?” 

About a dozen of the five-hundred or so students raised their hands, including Alex. The professor called on a girl at the front of the room, one he recognized from the library a few days previously. She stood up proudly before facing towards the group of students, finger-pointing at someone else in the crowd Alex recognized. Timothy Wright, someone he didn’t even realize was in this class.

“I know he’s clipped, I just do, It’s why he’s such a weirdo freak around people all the time!” She shouted. Some people in the class laughed awkwardly as Tim shrunk back in his seat. Accusations of someone being clipped were not things to be lightly thrown around. Getting clipped was a social death sentence to the point some people’s families would disown clipped members, all because they valued the wings over the person carrying the weight of them on their back. It was seen as heresy against whatever force existed above to get them removed for any reason, and because traditions died hard most of the world either had the surgeries banned outright or incredibly hard to have carried out. At least if you wanted to go through official channels. There were always the back-alley doctors who performed the procedures at a much higher rate than the professionals, which is why most, including the professor, assumed the scars for everyone were the same as the majority. Ugly things marring the skin of an individual back, when in reality unless you knew what to look for, which Alex did, you would never know someone was professionally clipped. Most would assume Alex would know this as a result of some prejudice of his own against clipped, he was at a low social rung, surely he would beat down on the head of the person behind him to prevent them from climbing upwards as everyone did from the top down. But Alex knew first hand he’d rather have a living mom without her wings than a dead one taking them to the grave. That was how he knew. From helping his mom care for her scars in the early days. Alex looked down as Tim shuffled out of the aisle and down to the center of the room, where he began to chew out the nosy girl with the rock dove wings.

“You’ve been following me around since my first day on campus and I’m fucking tired of it. You want proof I’m not clipped? That I’m not some sort of freak like you think I am?” Tim pulled off his shirt, showing most that he lacked what most would think the scars looked like. Alex tried to look closer but from this distance couldn’t see if he had the actual scars. It didn’t matter to him, he was just curious.”There’s your proof, now leave me the hell alone you stalker.”

The others in the hall chuckled slightly as the accusatory girl scurried back to her seat and tried to hide amongst her friends. Tim pulled his shirt back on before returning to his seat. As he looked around the hall his gaze caught Alex’s and he smiled and waved. Alex returned it.

“Mr. Kralie, hopefully, you have an actual clipping rather than baseless assumptions, which is something we will cover in the stereotyping portion of this unit.” Alex froze, not expecting to get called on. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish as the whispering erupted around him.

“Who would’ve thought that one of the crow kids hangs with other creeps.”

“I knew his wings were totally faked.”

“I already didn’t want to hang out with him because… well, you guys know but now finding out he knows clipped? Really dodged a bullet…”

“I heard his girlfriend got clipped and broke up with him because she’d rather be an outcast on her own than be with a manipulative scumbag like him…”

“It’s my mother. She got cancer in her wing bones and when they found it it was too far along to be treated. If she kept them she would have died when I was twelve. It would’ve been awful and painful for her the entire time.” Alex spat out, blocking out the rest of the class, or at least trying to. When their whispers grew to be too much he stormed out of the class with his bag, his vision tunnelled. He sat in an alcove in the hall, his head in his hands as he tried to calm himself down. He heard the doors from the lecture hall open and shut gently, and someone walking towards him.

“If you’re here to call me a freak some more I’m not really up to words right now and would rather just punch you and get it over with,” Alex said in a bitter tone as he stared down at his feet. When he looked up he wasn’t expecting to see Tim of all people.  
“Hey, I’m not here for namecalling, I’ve had enough of that myself. Is it alright if I sit next to you?” Tim asked. Alex nodded, shuffling to the side so there would be room for the two of them in the alcove. “That was brave of you, to share that about your mom. I’d be too scared of the backlash to talk about it if somebody I knew got clipped.”

“There’s not a whole lot more backlash for me to get.” Alex laughed. “I’m at the bottom of the totem pole.”

“I heard what the people were saying in there, but… You don’t seem like an awful manipulator to me. I mean, Brian’s your friend and he has a radar for avoiding shitty people built-in so that has to count for something.”

Alex laughed, remembering how for some reason Tim didn’t know about the wing stigmas but somehow knew about clipping instead. Usually, they would be learned in the opposite order.

“How do you know what clipping is but not about the stigmas?” Alex asked, turning to look Tim in the eyes. The feeling was back, the same anxious one he got around Jay as well, the same one he had gotten around Amy before he had built up the courage to ask her out. At this point, he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it meant, but for whatever reason, he didn’t want to admit it himself. “I mean, typically you learn the stereotypes about different wings first, or at least the basics of them.”

“The… the private school I went to must just have been weird.” Tim responded quickly, as though not wanting to dwell on his childhood. Alex wondered what was hidden in there. Tim was like some sort of puzzle box, each layer peeled back revealed a much more complicated one.

“You didn’t strike me as the private school type,” Alex responded in a joking manner that Tim seemed to interpret with 100% seriousness.

“Well, it was less a private school and more of a troubled kids thing, but enough about my weird stuff. Do you want to head out and get something to eat? I mean, if we’re working on some big project together we might as well become friends with each other.” Tim offered. He stood up, extending a hand to Alex. Alex took it standing up himself before quickly letting go.

“That sounds like a great idea.” He felt… weird. Weird in a way he didn’t understand. Sure, he had been socially awkward plenty of times before but this… this was… different. It felt like what he felt around Jay. “Where were you thinking?” “There’s a small diner about five minutes from here,” Tim answered. “It has the best club sandwiches. Brian also works there part-time so… maybe I’m biased.” Tim laughed, Alex chuckling with him. “Do you want to fly there or-” Alex began to ask before Tim quickly interrupted him. “No flying. I don’t… I don’t like heights.” Tim answered. “Besides, I don’t think you could lift me.” “Then let’s get walking,” Alex said with a smile. He was glad to know somebody that didn’t care for once. Everyone else always seemed to care too much about his wings, even Jay who had the best of intentions was overbearing at some points. It was nice to have somebody without those preconceived notions and biases.


	3. Alex Scraps His Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Tim hang out.

Alex had learned quite a bit about Tim in the short amount of time they had been hanging out together, and vice versa. For example, Alex now knew Tim had changed his major three times and likely would again. 

“I just… can’t find the thing I’m passionate about. I thought… maybe film would be the one but I’m not feeling it yet. I just wish I had the time to have thought about this before I started.” Tim explained, twirling the ice cubes in his drink around with his straw. 

“Did you not do any college planning in high school?” Alex asked, confused. He had remembered sitting in a class of thirty or so other incredibly bored teenagers, wishing they’d watch a movie instead of having a guidance counsellor lecture them on the importance of post-secondary education. 

“No… I didn’t.” Tim answered awkwardly.

“Did your parents not help you?” Alex asked, not really having the tact he should’ve. Tim grew quiet, and Alex realized he had said something wrong.

“My parents… weren’t in the picture.” He answered. “I think we should uh, change topics.”

“Ok, uh, what’s your zodiac?” Alex blurted out. It was the first thing that came to mind when Tim had mentioned changing the topic. 

“What’s my zodiac?” Tim burst out laughing. Alex put his head in his hands. It was a stupid fucking question. His laughter died off. “I don’t believe in that stuff but… I’m a Gemini, I think. June 19th is my birthday.”

“I don’t believe in it much either but… it’s a good icebreaker?” Alex suggested, to which Tim nodded. “I’m an Aries… April 4th is my birthday.”

“If we’re going from ice breakers then I have to ask…” Tim said smiling, “It is crucial… What’s your favourite colour?”

“Blue, all the way,” Alex answered. “And you?”

“Red or Purple, I can’t pick between the two,” Tim answered. He stacked their plates on the table, going back to his drink. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Where to?” Alex asked. “Back to Campus?”

“I don’t know. You’ve been fun to hang out with, maybe we could just skip and keep doing that.” Tim said to him, stretching as he stood up from the table. “I mean, they aren’t going to send anyone after us and it’s not like we have exams or something.”

“Alright, sure. Let’s go then.” Alex said. He pulled out his wallet, watching Tim do the same. Alex stopped him. “I’ll pay.”

“You don’t have to do that Alex, I have money,” Tim answered, continuing to pull his wallet out.

“Yeah I know I don’t have to but I want to. That’s… just what friends do.” Alex shrugged, stepping up to the counter and paying for both of them before Tim could protest further. He returned to Tim shortly. “I mean. I think we’re friends.”

“Yeah, I think we are. Thank you.” Tim said before leading the way out of the diner. They walked for a while, laughing and chatting, before coming upon a small, empty playground. It was the middle of the afternoon meaning no one would likely be at it for a few more hours. “Do you want to just… hang out here?”

“Sure.” Alex shrugged. Tim climbed up onto it, Alex following behind him. They sat together for a moment, Alex thinking quietly. Quickly he perked up, hopping off of it and taking a few quick steps back before making a frame with his hands. Tim began to get up as well but Alex stopped him, waving his hand. “No, just sit for a second I’m thinking.”

“Ok…” Tim trailed off, lowering himself back down and sitting while Alex awkwardly moved around on the grass, his wings keeping him fairly balanced, trying to position himself to his satisfaction. “What are you… doing exactly?”

“I was just… thinking about my student film and this would be a perfect place to shoot a scene,” Alex answered, sighing as he found what he believed to be a good angle. He moved back towards the playground, flying up and perching on one of the railings before hopping down and sitting back next to Tim. “Sorry. That was weird of me.”

“It’s all good man. This is something you’re passionate about and I’ve seen weirder.” Tim thought back to the Bluejay boy he had once seen balanced precariously in a tree at the quad, fiddling with a camera as a few others from the film class waited below for him to start filming. He had continued to fiddle until he seemed to get it how he wanted it before sort of flipping upside down like a sloth from the branch. At the time Tim had thought ‘surely there’s an easier way to accomplish this’ before rushing off to the economics class he was already late to and didn’t care much about. Alex’s face fell slightly at that and he sighed.

“I’m not passionate about it is the problem,” Alex answered. He picked at a loose thread at the hem of his shirt. “I thought I was once but… not anymore. It’s not what I want it to be anymore.”

“What do you want it to be?” Tim asked, crossing his arms and leaning forward. “What do you want it to say?”

“I don’t know.” He answered truthfully, staring off into the trees nearby. “The one I was doing originally… It was about a guy named Brian coming back to the town he grew up in after a few years and finding out things aren’t the same anymore. It was a love story at the end of the day. Something I’m not really feeling lately.”

Tim hummed quietly. He furrowed his brow, thinking. “If you’re not feeling a love story… why not make a horror story?”

“I don’t… understand.”

“Well, a horror story would be the furthest thing from a love story, wouldn’t it?” Tim said with a shrug. “I don’t know, I’m just throwing ideas out there man.”

“That’s not a bad idea at all Tim,” Alex said with a grin. It was a great idea, actually. He was really not feeling the story, and that was before Amy had broken up with him. He wanted nothing to do with a love story now. “I- That might be the exact idea I need, actually.”

“Really?” Tim said with surprise. Alex stood up, pacing back and forth on the playground, his wings flapping gently behind him in excitement. 

“Really, I mean, maybe what I need is to just… push myself out of my comfort zone. Make something I’ve never made before!” Alex said. He thought back to all of his projects thus far, either drama or love stories or art house. He had never made a horror film, never considered it. But it was a perfect idea. “Think about it; Darkness, monsters, terror and blood, it’s something I haven’t touched before! The scariest thing I ever made was an attempt at a comedy.”

Tim laughed at the joke as Alex continued to pace, mumbling to himself about ‘practical effects.’ and ‘lighting conditions.’ and ‘new locations.’ After a few moments, Tim realized something. “Doesn’t that mean you need to do an entirely new script?”

Alex paused. “Yes. It does.”

“How much work is that?” Tim asked.

“A lot, probably a month if I go fast,” Alex replied with a small groan. “But it’s ok, Jay can help me. I’ll get it done.”

“How long do you have to do this for class?” Tim said, trying to calculate how much school was left.

“Three months,” Alex answered. “If everything is nose to the grindstone I can complete each step in a month.”

“That… sounds like a bad idea,” Tim said. “I hate to be the one to shoot you down so soon but… To me, it sounds like if you’re not working yourself to the point of burnout you aren’t going to finish it.”

“Don’t worry about me, It’s not like I haven’t crunched before,” Alex said quietly. “Besides, don’t you need to complete a project like this?”

“I got told to just pair up with someone else on their project,” Tim said, standing up with a sigh. He stepped over to Alex, putting his hand on the other man’s shoulder. His grip was strong, and briefly, Alex got a flash of nerves. “And since you’re going to need all the help you can get, maybe I can group up with you.”

Alex froze for a second. He wasn’t sure why. He was perfectly fine with Tim working with him, wanted it actually, but for a reason, he couldn’t place a knot formed in the pit of his stomach and he grew nervous and distracted.

“Alex?” Tim asked, snapping him back to reality.

“Yes! Sorry just… spaced out for a second.” Alex chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Tim took his hand off Alex’s shoulder, smiling at him. “If you want to start working now Jay should be finished with his classes, I can ask if we can go to his dorm.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tim said with a shrug, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Alex hopped down from the playground, Tim following him as they started walking down the sidewalk back towards the campus. Alex texted Jay as they walked and chatted.

“He’s cool with that,” Alex said, almost tripping on the sidewalk in his effort to multitask. He quickly caught himself. “I can lead the way.”

“I’ll follow you then.” Tim laughed. “I mean, I don’t think I could find my way to a stranger's dorm on my own.”

“Of course not,” Alex said awkwardly. It was a stupid comment to make, ‘I can lead the way.’ What else was he going to do? Alex cursed internally as they continued walking. 

After a few moments they reached the dorm building, and Tim laughed in surprise. “Brian and I are in this building.”

“Really? That’s a funny coincidence.” Alex said. “We have to go to the fourth floor-”

“You’re lying,” Tim said. “That’s the floor we’re on.”

“You aren’t kidding? You’re serious?” Alex laughed as they walked into the building. Despite being good friends with Brian Alex had never actually been to his dorm, so it was surprising to find two of his good friends living in the same building. 

“It would be a weird thing to lie about,” Tim said, scratching the back of his head. They walked up the stairs, avoiding the elevators that were backed up with people coming from and going to classes. They made their way to the fourth floor, stopping outside of Jay’s door. Tim gestured to the door behind him. “That’s my door.”

“It must be fate that we’re working together then.” Alex joked.

“Wouldn’t it be fate if I lived across from your dorm?” Tim said in response.

“I mean, I practically live here, I spend more time at Jay’s than my own dorm,” Alex said as he finally knocked on the door in front of him. “Bad roommate.”

“Hey, Alex!” Jay said, pulling the door open before Tim could enquire further on that comment. Jay turned to Tim, putting out his hand. “You must be Tim!”

“You must be Jay.” He said in response, shaking his hand. He recognized him as the Bluejay guy who had been filming from a tree in the quad. “I’ve seen you around the quad before, filming.”

“Hopefully not people making me do stupid shit for ‘the sake of the film’” Jay grumbled, clearly tired of some of the other students in his class. Jay stepped out of the way of the door, letting Alex and Tim step in. “Make yourselves welcome. If you want any coffee I could put on a pot.”  
“That sounds good,” Tim said. Alex shook his head.

“I’m trying to quit coffee.” He said as an explanation. “Started to not work for me anymore.”

“Alright, I’ll get a cup for me and Tim. Do you want tea or something then Alex?” Jay asked as he walked to the small kitchenette.

“That sounds good,” Alex said. He looked at the floor for a second, before clearing his throat and looking back up at Jay. “So, Jay, what would you say if I told you I was scrapping the movie and doing something completely different?”

“Well, I’d tell you it was a bad idea and then strangle you because if you go down everyone working on it goes down with you,” Jay said, pausing in his filling of the coffee pot. He turned and looked at Jay, squinting his eyes. “Why?”

“Because that’s what I’m doing,” Alex said quickly. Jay sighed.

“You’ve been my friend for years, I should’ve expected this.” He said with resignation. “How much do we need to revise?” 

“I want to make a horror movie now,” Alex said.

“Alex- You’re dropping everything you have ready to make a type of movie you have no experience with?” Jay said. “When I told you we could keep revising and working on stuff I meant to use what we already had, not throw it all out.”

“Then we’ll just have to double-down to get this done,” Alex said with a grin as Jay shook his head.

“I think this is an awful idea,” Jay said.

“But you’re still going to do it?”

“But I’m still going to do it.”


End file.
